Shardlake, that kind-hearted, hunch backed lawyer in Henry VIII's England is at it again, this time involved in a plot to incriminate the Queen Catherine Parr. This series of books is so evocative and immersive, I love sinking into them and being in the dark streets of London or whatever town Shardlake finds himself sent …
Although this story is about war, and all the sadness and destruction that goes with that, it has a really beautiful fairy tale quality to it as well. A blind young girl grows up with her father in Paris. He is the locksmith at a museum, and he builds her a complete model of the …
Continue reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Another beautifully written and poignant book to sink yourself into, Alice Hoffman once again weaves a tale of romance, tragedy and release. I love her books so much, and although some of you have probably figured out from reading all her books this year, I do have favourites, this is one of her new releases …
Continue reading The Museum Of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Set in the last four years of the Jewish occupation of the Masada fortress in ancient Israel in the time of the Roman occupation, this book tells the events of the lives of four women there who work together in the Dovecotes. I suppose most of you who have an interest in the history of …
One of my favourite books by this author, this is Hoffman at her finest. Blackbird House is a series of short stories about one house, from the day it's built to the present, telling the stories of the lives that live there. Often tragic, but always beautiful, each story is different, but with certain themes …
Although it's well written, capturing the mood and language of it's era, this book failed to really grab me. It follows the lives of a brother and sister, James and Charlotte, who have no one in the world except each other, until time and social circumstances pull them apart. But when something supernatural happens that …
Certain books were a fixture in our house growing up, and I can remember winters by the fire with illustrated editions of various Victorian novels. Amongst my favourites were the Sherlock Holmes series. (I think everyone in my family loves a mystery story, my mum remembered her Grandmother reading Agatha Christie at the breakfast table …
Continue reading 221b Baker Street, London: A visit to Sherlock Holmes house.
During the political and religious unrest of the dissolution of the monasteries, a commissioner from Thomas Cromwell is murdered at a Benedictine monastery that he was sent to investigate. When Commissioner Shardlake is sent to investigate the murder, he finds murder and corruption, and a race against time to find a killer. But nothing is …
Pearl and her mother Winnie have a difficult relationship, which has only grown worse since Pearl's father died years ago. But when Winnie's friend Helen thinks that she might have an uncurable illness, she forces Winnie to talk to her daughter about the secrets of their previous life in China in the 1930's. The biggest …
In 17th century New England, a Native American boy called Caleb from what would later be known as Martha's Vineyard would become one of Harvard's earliest students. This book imagines his story, seen through the eyes of an imagined dear friend Bethia, using as much primary sources as were available to create the story of …
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